The invention is based on a driver circuit for the generation of a switching voltage wherein at least one semiconductor amplifier is present which converts an input signal that is variable within wide limits into an output signal having only two stable initial states.
In many electronics applications, especially in semiconductor circuit engineering, it is necessary to convert, by means of a switching threshold, an input signal present in analog form into an output signal (switching signal) that can be further processed with digital techniques. The output signal depends on the technique selected, e.g., the so-called TTL technique. The corresponding switching points are predetermined for each type of such digital technique. Many driver circuits are based on a semiconductor amplifier with high amplification so that its output signal is only provided with two stable switching states. Such a driver is also called, e.g., a comparator. Such drivers should have switching parameters that are as stable as possible, e.g., a temperature drift of the switching threshold and of the switching states that is as negligible as possible.
Semiconductor components for high and/or extremely high frequency engineering, e.g., the so-called millimeter wavelength technology, are based on the GaAs semiconductor material (GaAs technology). With this material, so-called HEMT (high electron mobility technology) components can be produced. Such HEMT components have a temperature behavior that is stable per se, i.e., a low temperature drift of the electrical properties.